Muhyiddin: APs to be retained
By Dr Yeoh SM aka maverik
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Minister of International Trade and Industry Muhyiddin Yassin today surprised everyone when he said that the government was retaining the Approved Permits (AP) policy for the next ten to eleven years.
His ministry was now backtracking on the promise the prime minister’s department made in 2006, when they announced the policy would end in 2010.
“A decision has been made and we are not changing it,” said Muhyiddin. The decision to keep the AP, Muhyiddin said, was made to prepare present traders for a time when there were no more APs.
“So that they would be able to stand on their own without relying on APs anymore,” he added.
“Ten to eleven years down the line, whoever wants to import (any vehicles) they have the liberty to do that,” he said, noting that the companies who have got the permits before the removal would have a strong base by then.
APs are only issued to Bumiputera businesses.
So far, 148 cars and motorbikes companies have been issued with APs.
Source: Muhyiddin: APs to be retained
I have no qualms about the APs; only 148 families enjoy this benefits out of possibly 7 million families in Malaysia.
The APs privileges as part of the ketuanan thing had promoted the aggressive imports of cars which runs counter to the pretension policy of protecting Proton, another Malaysia Boleh conceptualization and also a ketuanan conceptualization; and ironically, both being conceptualized by the great sage, Mahathir himself, of which he later landed disparaged in the Mahaleel saga.